BBQ Pope Unfurl the Weight of Grief and Growth on Their Triumphant New Album

Toronto indie rock trio BBQ Pope make a striking return with UNFURL, their long-awaited sophomore album — a bold reflection on grief, growth, and navigating adulthood’s many uncertainties. Written after a three-year hiatus and shaped by loss, friendship, and perseverance, the record delivers nine songs that balance raw heaviness with gratitude, maturity, and the DIY spirit that has fueled the band since day one.

At the heart of the record lies “Pool Hall,” a cathartic centerpiece about memory, loss, and carrying the spirit of those we’ve loved into the future. It’s a song that captures BBQ Pope at their most vulnerable, yet also their most self-assured — a meditation on how love and grief intertwine, and how music can become a vessel for remembering.

UNFURL finds the trio — Reid Millar (bass/vocals), Sean Hackl (guitar/vocals), and Duncan Briggs (drums) — refining both their sound and their sense of identity. Working with producer Dylan Frankland (Tallies) at Wychwood Sound, the band sought to capture a sense of emotional urgency while achieving newfound clarity and confidence. “This is the first time recording a record where I really felt like I wasn’t faking it,” says Millar. “It feels like we came into our own sonically.”

That sense of authenticity reverberates through every note of UNFURL. The album builds on the band’s raw, high-energy roots while leaning into melodic sophistication and lyrical honesty. Where earlier material thrived on explosive spontaneity, UNFURL channels that same intensity into something more introspective — a reflection of years lived, lessons learned, and people lost.

At its core, “Pool Hall” embodies the album’s emotional duality — the ache of absence and the gratitude that follows. Inspired by the passing of a close friend, the song revisits familiar haunts like a beloved Toronto pool hall, transforming nostalgia into a living, breathing pulse of memory and loss. “The reason grief is so painful is because you loved someone so deeply,” Millar shares. “It’s the price you pay for knowing that person and eventually you learn to be grateful for those memories.”

Initially, “Pool Hall” began as a quieter, more subdued piece. But under Frankland’s guidance, the track evolved into a soaring, hook-driven anthem that amplifies its emotional weight. Layered guitars, driving percussion, and Millar’s aching vocals collide into something cathartic — a blend of indie rock immediacy and timeless melody. The result is both deeply personal and strikingly universal: a song that feels like closure and continuation all at once.

Since forming in 2015, BBQ Pope have carved out a devoted following within Ontario’s thriving indie and punk rock scene. Their electrifying live shows — often bordering on the acrobatic — have become local legend, with performances that fuse grunge grit, shoegaze haze, garage punk urgency, and power-pop shine into something unmistakably their own. Along the way, they’ve shared stages with acts like The Dirty Nil, Chastity, Single Mothers, Luna Li, and Fat Tony, earning a reputation for turning vulnerability into kinetic energy.

With UNFURL, BBQ Pope offer their most mature and cohesive statement to date — a record that stares down the uncertainty of adulthood and emerges stronger for it. Across nine tracks, the trio explores how friendships evolve, how grief reshapes us, and how creative bonds can hold fast through life’s turbulence. Recorded over two years, the album stands as a testament to patience, persistence, and the enduring strength of connection.

Ultimately, UNFURL is more than a comeback; it’s a renewal. It’s the sound of a band rediscovering itself — weathered, wiser, and still chasing that same electric pulse that started it all.